THE days of reckoning are closing in at Bolton, not just on whether or not they will make it into Europe, but over which players will stay to take them there next season if they get there.

Manager Sam Allardyce is looking to bring in six to eight players this summer, but first he has to decide on the five or six who will be moving on.

Players like Nigerian midfielder Blessing Kaku, defender Julio Cesar and the unlucky Florent Laville, have played little or no Premiership football this season, and look certain to come into the equation.

Kaku, signed from Israeli club Ashdod last summer, was being linked this week with a return to Israel.

Allardyce also has to reach decisions over Fernando Hierro, the 37-year-old Spanish legend, and left-back Vincent Candela. who arrived from Roma in January on a short contract until the end of the season.

Hierro seemed to have no chance in January when he was one of seven players listed by Allardyce and, at his age, he would seem to have little Premiership future.

But he has been a revelation since mid-February when he took over Ivan Campo's midfield holding role and kept it. The former Real Madrid captain even showed his fitness and stamina by coming through two games in four days against Charlton and Southampton.

He hinted mid-season that he would be retiring at the end of it but, more recently, he has retreated from that position saying he would talk to Allardyce at the end of the campaign and make a decision then.

The signs are that Candela will get the chance to sign a new deal.

The 31-year-old Frenchman has been involved in nearly ten games since coming into the squad and has been keeping Ricardo Gardner out of the side. But Candela has made his mark.

The Reebok boss said: "I like Vincent. He's an exceptionally experienced player with a lot of talent. He sometimes gets a bit over-excited and, occasionally, loses his defensive responsibility, which is surprising for such an experienced player.

"But his attacking strengths are so good that he threatens the opposition more than any full back we've ever had. More often than not, the lad he's playing against ends up having to chase him."

How Allardyce will spend the limited funds that will be made available to him remains to be seen, but chairman Phil Gartside raised eyebrows this week when he said that talks were planned with Liverpool over a permanent deal for on-loan striker El-Hadji Diouf, who has been priced at é3.5m.

Bolton are also reported to have watched Bordeaux's highly-rated French international midfielder Rio Antonio Mavuba in action against Strasbourg.

Mavuba wants a move because his team will not be playing European football next term.